readytorunbook Chapter 296 Ding Feng, the Long-Distance Running Champion
Chapter 296 Ding Feng, the Long-Distance Running Champion
UI.
Even the most perfect plan needs time to be implemented. In other words, if you are fast enough, you can make the enemy's plan die in the womb due to lack of implementation time.
Ding Feng originally intended to leave the cave and find another cave to hide in, so that he could take the initiative to jump out and lead the Han army away when they arrived.
Although the idea was good, they did not expect the Han army to arrive so quickly. In their haste, they could not find a second cave and could only hide in the bushes for the time being.
However, the bushes could not hide people, and the Han army would find them as soon as they passed by. Therefore, Ding Feng did not dare to stay for long. When he saw the Han army from afar, he quickly jumped out and fled. Before leaving, he did not forget to shout to attract the attention of the Han army, hoping that they would all come to chase him and thus ignore the existence of Lü Ju.
Unfortunately, Zhu Chao, the commander of the Han army, was no fool. After glancing at the bushes and finding no cave, he immediately realized the problem. While pursuing Ding Feng with all his might, he ordered his army to carefully search the surrounding area and find the cave where Ding Feng was hiding.
This put Lü Ju in a difficult position. He hid in the cave, barely daring to breathe, for fear that his breathing would disturb the Han army.
But is it useful?
They were hiding in a cave, not an anthill. Such a large target, no matter how well covered, could not escape the Han army's carpet search.
Thousands of Han soldiers searched the area around the bushes where Ding Feng was hiding, hacking and stabbing with their swords and spears. Soon, someone came to the cave entrance where Lü Ju was. With a routine sweep of their spears, the bushes and branches in front of the cave were blown away, startling the Han soldiers who thought they were hallucinating.
The soldiers calmed themselves down and examined the area carefully. They quickly discovered that the bushes at the entrance of the cave were not native to the area, but had been cut down and piled up there. Who would be so idle as to cut down bushes for fun on the battlefield?
Realizing the problem, the soldiers quickly cleared away the nearby obstacles and found the cave entrance blocked by rubble. Just as they were about to call for their teammates' support, the rubble was pushed aside from the inside, and a young general stood in the cave and calmly said, "I am Lü Ju, Lü Shiyi. Take me to see General Guan Xing."
When the Han army cleared the branches, Lü Ju knew he couldn't escape. Since he couldn't escape, he should face it calmly. Even if he was going to die, he should maintain the demeanor befitting a member of the aristocratic class.
The rest was simple. They searched the Han army for veterans who had fought alongside Lü Fan and who held Lü Ju in high esteem. They respectfully invited him out of the cave and led him to Baoping Valley.
On the way, Lü Ju took a moment to look back and murmured to himself as he looked in the direction Ding Feng had fled, "Cheng Yuan, I'm doomed, but you must escape."
"Achoo..." Ding Feng, who was running at full speed on the mountain road, suddenly sneezed for no reason. In the instant he bent over, he tragically discovered that the Han army was only about 150 meters away from him and was about to enter the range of their arrows.
Moreover, these bastards were holding bows while chasing, clearly preparing to shoot themselves as soon as they entered range.
Ding Feng dared not delay and ran away as fast as he could, removing his armor and throwing away everything that would slow him down, keeping only his sword as a backup.
What he needs now is to escape, not to kill. When escaping, speed is more important than defense. In this situation, the armor becomes a burden, and it's better to throw it away as soon as possible.
After discarding his armor, Ding Feng's speed increased by more than 20%, and he quickly left the fully armed Han army, covered in armor and accessories, behind.
Ding Feng dared not stop and continued running wildly, rushing to the vicinity of the mountain pass. There he found the camp where the Han army was stationed, but it was already deserted.
Ding Feng was overjoyed and accelerated again. He rushed out of the gap and entered the corridor, only to be horrified to find that a Han army was retreating along the corridor toward Yushan. The rear guard was only thirty or fifty meters away from him.
In other words, he came out as soon as the Han army withdrew?
If we arrived half an hour earlier... wouldn't that be...?
Ding Feng was both frightened and relieved. Without thinking too much, he quickly turned around and fled westward.
The retreating Han army consisted of three thousand men led by Wu Yue. Upon seeing Ding Feng and realizing that he had not come to join them but was fleeing in the opposite direction, they realized that he was not one of their own. They immediately gave chase and shouted, "Stop! Wu dog in front, stop! Where are the archers? Shoot him dead!"
The archers did not move because they were at the very front of the column, and there were swordsmen and shieldmen between them and Ding Feng, so they couldn't get through in a short time.
This is easy to understand. They were retreating towards Yushan. During the retreat, they were worried about Lu Xun catching up and attacking them, so they naturally had the swordsmen and shieldmen cover their rear. There was no reason to have the archers cover their rear, right?
Doing this normally would be fine, but now...
Without archers to snipe, it would be impossible for swordsmen and shieldmen alone to catch up with Ding Feng.
Ding Feng, unaware of what was happening behind him and fearing being riddled with arrows by the Han archers, spurred his legs and accelerated, trying to escape the range of the arrows as quickly as possible.
How can one unleash their full potential in long-distance running?
The answer is to release a wild animal like a bear or tiger to chase him; the athlete must run faster than the wild animal to avoid being eaten.
Ding Feng is like this now, his legs swinging like wheels, running at the fastest speed he's ever run, and it's estimated that he'll never break today's record again.
After running at top speed for nearly 25 minutes, Ding Feng finally collapsed to the ground, muttering to himself, "I'm not running anymore, I can't run anymore. If I get captured, I'll accept my fate. Even if I'm killed, at least I'll get a quick death."
With this thought in mind, Ding Feng lay sprawled on the ground and turned his head to the east, only to be surprised to find that there was no one behind him.
He ran so fast that the Han army gave up when they realized they couldn't catch him.
But he was so focused on running that he didn't have time to look behind him and kept thinking that the Han army was still chasing him. Turns out you're telling me they weren't chasing him at all?
Then all that time I spent running around was for nothing.
Upon learning that the Han army had not pursued them, Ding Feng was so frustrated that he almost vomited blood. He became increasingly angry and couldn't help but hit himself twice.
I'm such an idiot, I was so focused on running away that I didn't even watch where I was going, damn it...
But no matter what, it's always good to escape alive. The problem is, I escaped, but what about Lü Ju?
As I jumped out of the bushes, I seemed to hear the Han general ordering a search. Such a large cave couldn't possibly hide from the Han army's search; Lü Ju was probably already...
Thinking of his fellow sufferer Lü Ju, Ding Feng felt frustrated again. He had originally intended to sacrifice himself to protect Lü Ju, but he escaped while Lü Ju was captured. What kind of situation is this?
Ding Feng ranted and rave but dared not linger. After resting for a moment, he struggled to his feet and, using his sword as a crutch, slowly retreated westward. As he retreated, he did not forget to survey his surroundings, preparing to fight to the death at any moment.
Although the main force of the Han army had withdrawn, the scouts were still there. He had finally managed to escape the encirclement of the main force of the Han army, and he could not afford to be caught by the scouts who suddenly appeared.
Therefore, we must not let our guard down before meeting Lu Xun.
With this in mind, Ding Feng slowed down and moved forward at a snail's pace, a stark contrast to his previous sprint.
Meanwhile, Guan Xing successfully set up camp in Baopingyu, and was escorted back to camp as soon as he had settled the wounded soldier Lü Ju.
After learning about the search and Zhu Chao's movements from the soldiers, Guan Xing approached Lü Ju and said with a smile, "General Lü, I have long admired your name."
Lu Ju clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, saying, "General Guan, you flatter me. You are the one whose name is truly renowned and widely known."
A defeated general has no right to put on airs; to survive, he must adopt a humble attitude.
Besides, he wasn't wrong. Guan Xing's killing of Xu Sheng and Han Dang, two generals of Eastern Wu, in this battle will surely make him famous throughout the land.
The fastest way to become famous is to step on those who are already famous. Han Dang was a veteran who had participated in the Suanzao Alliance and had been comrades-in-arms with Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and even Yuan Shao. Taking his head would have made him famous.
Guan Xing laughed and said, "General Lü, you're too kind. Feel at home here, there's no need to be so formal."
After finishing his sentence, he changed the subject with a slight smile and said, "Brother Shiyi, could you tell me about Grand Commander Lu? Where is he now, and what are his plans for dealing with me next?"